Then & Now: A history of flooding on the Athens campus

May 4, 2011Story by Alyse Lamparyk, Slideshow by Sandhya Kambhampati

During the past few weeks, the Hocking River has surged to levels of more than 21 feet due to the large amount of rain that the state has received during April. The resulting local and regional flooding prompted Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi to send an email to OHIO students on April 22 warning them of potential driving problems.

Flooding is nothing new for Ohio University’s Athens campus, and recent levels do not compare to the floods before the Hocking River was rerouted by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1969.

University Archivist and Records Manager Bill Kimok said OHIO was the driving force behind the project because more residence halls were being built on West and South Greens, areas that were prone to flooding.